Plato (Past Masters) by R. M. Hare (PDF)

Description

Offers a look at Plato’s life and discusses his philosophy and teachings

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I’d read summaries of Plato’s philosophy before in other books: “The Story of Philosophy” by Durant has 40 pp. on Plato and “From Socrates to Sartre: the Philosophical Quest” by Lavine has 59 pp. on Plato. Richard Hare gives a much fuller introduction with just a few more pages (75 pp.). I learned so much more about Plato from this book, I was amazed at what I was missing from other introductions. Concise and well written. A pleasure to read.

⭐Everyone who thinks that philosophy in general and Plato in particular is dry and cryptic should try this book. In only about 80 pages, R.M.Hare, a distinguished philosopher himself, manages to give an account of the entire scope of Plato’s work without relying on the sophisticated apparatus of modern philosophical terminology. This not only makes the book accessible for a wider audience but also provides a better understanding of some of Plato’s philosophical problems, since he did not have that apparatus at hand either. The book gives biographical information on Plato, outlines his views on epistemology, ethics and the state and finally looks at the influence of Platonist philosophy, which can be found throughout the history of human thought. The main feature, in my view, of the work is the explanation of Plato’s Theory of Ideas in terms of logic rather than esoteric. This interpretation has long been known among experts but here it is laid out for a more general public. One should also take a close look at the examination of Plato’s “Republic” and find out that it is not an early version of “1984”. “Plato” by R.M.Hare will thus be an excellent choice for anyone interested in the foundations of western thought or the history of ideas and also for experts as a concise summary.

⭐Re. The Seller: The book arrived very quickly and was in a very good condition. 5 Stars.Re. The Book: Plato’s prose and style are easy enough for beginners, and there’s probably no better place to acquaint oneself with his philosophy than going straight to his dialogues. Introductory books like these can then be used as secondary literature to help get an overview of done particular aspect of his philosophy, or work through some difficult aspects of it. To this end, Hare’s book is fit for the purpose. Despite disagreeing with his interpretation of Plato in places, nonetheless, this is an excellent little introductory book. For this reason, I give RM Hare’s book 4 Stars.For those wanting to learn about Plato’s philosophy, however, this should not be a substitute for reading the dialogues themselves (e.g. The Trial and Death of Socrates: Four Dialogues, and, the Republic, are a good place to start). Julia Annas’ very short introduction, and Andrew Mason’s more comprehensive one, make good secondary literature.

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